The Legend Of Mega City
by Agent Alexandra Paris
Summary: The local witch of the mainframe is found dead and all hell breaks loose. And as the chaos ensues, Jackson and Persephone grow much closer. Chapter 8 is now up.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**The Matrix and all related characters belong to Warner Bros. and the Brothers Wachoski. The Legend Of Sleepy Hallow and The Headless Horseman belong to Washington Irving wrote and published original tale in 1819 under the pen name of Geoffry Crayon Gent. This fan fic is strictly for entertainment purposes only and is not being written for profit. All characters in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to anyone in this piece living or dead is purely coincidental.**_

_Hi again!_

_I'm glad that you enjoy my stories. I figured since the Halloween season is quickly coming upon us, I thought that I would give you a scary matrix themed horror story. Now bear with me because I'm used to writing fluffy romantic fan fics about Agent Smith._

_Now as a kid I have always loved The Legend Of Sleepy Hallow because let's face it, The Headless Horseman is too fucking cool and it would only make sense for him to be a headless Agent of the Matrix searching the mainframe for his head. Of course in this version of the Matrix you will have ghosts, witches and a few goblins here and there. But they are just glitches in the Matrix...or are they?_

_I now proudly present to you, The Legend Of Mega City..._

Prologue

The day had come when Neo had parted from the Oracle and he would encounter Smith once more. Like an ominous spectre from the past. He walked towards Neo until they were fact to face and nose to nose.

"Mr. Anderson, surprised to see me?" He asked as he raised a single eyebrow from behind his dark sunglasses.

"No." Neo answered.

"Then you are aware of it?"

"Of what?" Neo was puzzled.

"Our connection." Smith answered as he touched one finger to the side of his head.

Smith paused and then he spoke again.

"I killed you Mr. Anderson, I watched you die...with a certain satisfaction, I might add. Then something happened. Something that I knew was impossible, but it happened anyway. You destroyed me, Mr. Anderson. After that, I understood the rules, I knew what I was supposed to do, but I didn't. I couldn't. I was compelled to stay, compelled to disobey. And now here I stand because of you, Mr. Anderson. Because of you, I am not longer an agent of this system. Because of you, I've changed. I'm unplugged. A new man, so to speak. Like you, apparently free."

Neo kind of smirked at Smith's little speech.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you." Smith said.

Smith tilted his head and spoke some more.

"But as you well know, appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason we're here. We're not here because we're free. We're here because we're not free. There is no escaping reason; no denying purpose. Because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exsist."

To Neo's left a voice similar to Smith's spoke.

"It is purpose that created us."

And then to Neo's right.

"It is purpose the connects us."

Neo had a look of shock on his face as several Smith clones appeared at all sides of him as they continued to speak.

"Purpose that pulls us."

"That guides us."

"That drives us."

"It is purpose that defines us."

"Purpose that binds us."

Smith looked him dead in the eye as he continued to speak. Neo was out numbered.

"We are here because of you, Mr. Anderson. We're here to take from you what you took from us."

Smith plunged his hand into Neo's chest.

"Purpose." Smith snarled.

But somehow Neo was able to break free. He jumped up in the air and kicked Smith in the face, throwing him against the wall, breaking his shades.

"More!" Smith snarled.

Not too far off two men were fighting with kitanas in a dojo. The clones looked on as Neo was fighting the other copies. One man was in his early 30's and was quite the skilled fighter. He was focused as he fought. His moves were like very well calculated but graceful like a cat. He was fighting an older man who was obviously his teacher. He knocked the old man down with the kitana coming only inches away from his face. The old man smiled.

"You have learned well my son."

"Thank you sensai." The young man bowed.

He let his teacher up, a few moments later the clones busted in and over took them killing the old man instantly. The young man tried to get away but it was too late. The copies over took him and held him for their leader.

"What's going on?" He screamed.

The clone gave him an evil grin.

"You will serve us well."

And with that he plunged a hand into the young man's chest making him writhe in pain. He felt coldness and then finally nothing at all. All that was left of him was a perfect copy. The new clone looked at his surroundings and noticed the kitana by his side. He picked it up as if by instinct. It was a part of him.

The other copies lead him to the park and as if by second nature, he leaped in and swung at Neo with his razor sharp sword only to miss him by inches. Little did he know that The One would be resourceful and have a weapon at his disposal as well. Neo reached into his long black coat, brandishing a heavy straight edged sword. The copy swung but The One would block every single move. The battle went on for quite sometime as Smith and the other copies watched. But in one single stroke it was over. The copy just stood as the others watched in silence. He seemed fine, until he started to bleed from his neck and then as if in slow motion, his head fell off and landed with a loud thud onto the ground. It was then the copies charged at Neo and dog piled him. He couldn't breathe under the mass of Smith bodies.

"It is inevitable, Mr. Anderson." Smith hissed in his ear.

But out of nowhere Neo got the strength to throw the mass off of him as he leaped high up into the air. He took a pole out the cement and started to swing around it kicking each one them away and knocking them out. Once they were all on the ground, Neo flew away.

Smith looked around at his defeated copies, but he looked more at the one who lost his head. In a way he was quite disturbed by the site of his headless copy just laying there. Not far off was his head, it's face twisted in an eternal grimace. He turned to his other copies.

"Get rid of it." He ordered.

It had been a long time since that battle between Smith and Neo in the park all those many years ago. But what is really disturbing is that even though ghosts, angels, vampires and even werewolves are a part of the Matrix, none are as terrifying as the headless Agent program who roams that very spot where he met his demise by the hands of The One. Both humans and programs alike dare not stray near that place, especially after dark. Some have even claimed to have seen him wandering the park searching for his head. Others have not been so lucky though. Over the years there had been reports of headless bodies found and so far the murderer has never been caught.

But Agent Jackson, Smith's predecessor, who had been following the case for years was going to get to the bottom of these murders in the Matrix. One way or another...


	2. A New Assignment

Chapter 1

Jackson inspected the body of the now dead Train Man whose body was just pulled out of the river. He looked bloated and paler than when he was alive. Agents Johnson and Thompson were by his side not to long after that as the EMTs hoisted the dead body onto the gurney and wheeled it into the ambulance.

"We found him floating face down." Jackson said.

"Do you think it was suicide." Johnson asked.

"I seriously doubt that. The Train Man was functioning quite well."

"Are you saying it was murder?" Thompson asked.

"It has to be, because why would a perfectly functioning program such as the Train man be found floating face down in the river. I think he might have pissed someone off."

A few hours later the three Agents were at the morgue with The Architect dressed in green scrubs as he examined the body. The old man turned to the lead upgrade as he took his surgical gloves off.

"You were correct my dear, Mr. Jackson." He said as he handed him the chart.

"Our dear Train Man was dead before he hit the water. There was a virus injected into his system that made his whole body shut down." The Architect said.

"How long was he in the river?" Jackson asked.

"I would guess that he was there for almost a month before you found him."

"Poor bastard." Johnson said.

The very next day Jackson reported for work. Agent Brown called him into his office.

"Have a seat." He said.

Jackson took a seat in front of his superior.

"I'm giving you a new assignment, starting today."

"Sir?"

"As you know over the years there have been series of decapitations in a certain neighborhood of Mega City. Just within the past two weeks alone there have been four murders. Each victim with their head lopped off."

Brown handed Jackson the file. He opened it and saw the photos.

"I notice that some of these victims are human." Jackson said.

"Yes, that's why the community leaders have asked us to send someone to help and at this time I have chosen you." Brown told him.

"Me?"

"You have a record of solving several murder cases over the past year. This one has been going on for the past 20 years or so and no one has been able to find the killer. With your methods, we hope that you will be able to catch him and bring him to justice. You're the best Jackson, that's why I have chosen you."

"I won't disappoint you sir."

Brown excused Jackson and then he made his way to the neighborhood where these strange murders where happening. He met with The Oracle who was the community leader. He arrived at her apartment and knocked at the door. A few seconds later she answered.

"Ah, I've been expecting you Agent Jackson." The old woman said with a warm smile.

"Come inside." She said.

Jackson stepped inside, the smell of fresh baked cookies drifted over the apartment.

"Have a seat. I'll be right back." She told him.

Jackson took a seat on the couch and waited as The Oracle came back with a tray of fresh chocolate chip cookies and a pitcher of milk with two glasses. She sat them down as she took a seat next to the Agent.

"Help yourself." She offered.

Jackson took a cookie and started to eat it. It felt warm and gooey in his mouth.

"Good huh?"

He nodded.

"So anyway you know why you're here."

"To catch the killer."

"Yes, but he's been very hard to catch. Some say he might even be a ghost."

"Oracle, this is the matrix. There's no such thing." Jackson said.

"No such thing my ass." She said.

"I believe to have a silly superstition is to almost be human ... no offense."

"None taken son. I think I better show you where you will be staying."

Jackson followed The Oracle out the door and down the hall. They were greeted by The Key Maker.

"We have been expecting you Agent Jackson. This will be your quarters." He said.

The Key Maker opened the door as Jackson and The Oracle stepped inside. It was a tiny one bedroom with a window and a fire escape.

"Make yourself at home. If you need anything, don't hesitate to give us a call." The Oracle told him.

"Thanks." Jackson said.

Finally he was alone and manipulated the matrix to make his surroundings a tad more pleasant. In the bedroom, he made it look more like a forensics lab while the rest of the area became more black and streamlined. Once Jackson was done settling in, he plopped down on the couch and took a deep breath. Apparently, he was satisfied with his new environment. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A few hours later, he was awakened by the sound of children playing and adults laughing and having a good time. He thought he would investigate. He put on his jacket and headed downstairs to the lobby of the building where a group of children were surrounding a blindfolded woman. She had long black hair and wore a tight fitting white dress. She laughed as a man dressed all in red spun her around.

"Merv, this is such a silly game!" She laughed.

"Be a sport Persephone and stop complaining." The man in red said.

She moved to the sound of his voice. She smiled as she reached out for him but he backed away as the children laughed. One little girl saw Agent Jackson and put her finger to her lips

"You have to play along." The little girl whispered.

Before Jackson could say anything, the blind woman had him in her grip.

"I have someone!" She proudly announced as the children laughed.

"You have to tell who it is." The little girl said.

She touched Jackson's face, he wasn't wearing his sunglasses. In a way he was uncomfortable with this strange woman touching him. In the distance the man in red watched with jealousy.

"At least make a guess." The little girl told her.

"I don't know cherie'. Is it my beloved Merv?"

"Certainly not." Merv said with annoyed tone in his voice.

"Excuse me ma'am." Jackson said as he too her hands from his face. "I believe the children were having a laugh at your expense."

She took the blindfold off. Jackson could see how beautiful she really was. Jackson tried to compose himself.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Persephone apologized.

"Oh...uh...no that's okay. Really."

"And you are?" Merv inquired.

"I'm Agent Jackson. I was assigned here just recently." He said as he offered his hand to him.

Merv just scowled at him. Jackson withdrew his hand and excused himself

"Well it was nice meeting you both. Good night."

"Good night Agent Jackson." Persephone said.

"Thanks." Jackson smiled back and then he went back up to his apartment.

Merv still glared at the Agent. Persephone hit his shoulder.

"Merv, there was no need for that! He's new here and the least we could do is be courteous to our new guest." Persephone scolded him.

And with that she walked away. Merv knew that he had pissed her off.


	3. Late Night Meeting

Chapter 2

It was the very next day and Jackson would meet up with Seraph. Seraph was sitting at a laptop sipping on a latte in the local neighborhood 24 hour Starbucks when he walked in. It was late at night, about 1 a.m.

"I was expecting you." Seraph said looking up from his laptop.

"I'm ..." Jackson started to speak.

"I know, you're Agent Jackson." He said as he took a sip of his latte. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" He offered.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm trying to cut down on my caffeine." Jackson said.

Jackson took his seat across from Seraph. A few moments later a very attractive woman in a black suit and shades walked in. Her copper red hair was pilled back tightly into a bun and as it contrasted with her pale skin. Jackson also noticed that she too wore an earpiece so he assumed that she too was a fellow agent. She looked in Seraph's and Jackson's direction as she walked towards them.

"Hello, gentlemen." Said the female Agent.

Seraph looked up at her.

"Hello Agent St. James. Please have a seat." Seraph offered.

"Don't mind if I do." She said.

She took her place next to Seraph and removed her sunglasses revealing her unnaturally deep blue eyes. Jackson could not help but be reminded of Smith when he looked into her eyes. It was like he was looking at his predecessor again only this time in a different form.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No. I'm Agent Jackson." He answered.

"Oh yes, I have heard so much about you." She said.

The tone also seemed to match Smith in every way, except hers was more feminine. Jackson couldn't help be creeped out a little by her. Jackson started to speak.

"As you know, I am going to need every detail of all the murders that have went on. But for now, I only ask if you have any theories as to who the killer may be?"

Agent St. James raised a single eyebrow at Jackson's question.

"What?" Seraph asked.

Jackson took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"What I am asking is, is there any one person you might suspect here in the city."

"We were afraid of this."

Agent St. James shot Seraph a stern look.

"Well Jackson... you are aware... to be honest, you were not what we expected in an upgrade. We sent for a detective." Agent St. James said.

"Being a detective is my specialty now." Jackson answered.

"But back in the day you were programed to shoot first and ask questions later." She said.

"Well those days were very different. As you can tell, criminology is my specialty now." Jackson told her.

"You know instead analyzing what his original purpose was for, why don't we ask him how much his superiors have bothered to tell him about this case." Seraph told her.

"Alright, please tell us what you know Jackson." St. James said.

"Well I do know that at least three were killed, one of them being human, all of them beheaded." Jackson answered.

"Their heads were never found actually. Only their bodies." St.James told him.

Seraph leaned closer to Jackson.

"The reason they were never found is some say they were taken by Headless Agent Program. Taken to a part of the mainframe they call hell."

Jackson could not believe what Seraph was saying.

"Excuse me?" Jackson asked as he raised on eyebrow from behind his dark shades.

"I think it's time you knew the whole story Jackson." St. James said.

The three of them sat in the empty coffeehouse as Seraph told the story as to how the legend came to be.

"The Agent... he was a copy of Smith. Before Smith cloned him he was a skilled sword fighter and the best of the best. It was the day of the battle on the playground just after Neo beat the crap out you and your fellow upgrades."

It was all coming back to Jackson now, he had remembered being defeated by The One that day and feeling like he had not lived up to his programming. Seraph continued to tell the story.

"Well the clone fought Neo as Smith and his fellow copies watched. Metal clashed and clanged and then with one swift move it was all over. Neo chopped off the copy's head. Some say it rolled off never to be found again. Some say they have seen the Agent and to look upon him would make your blood run cold." Seraph told him.

"Are you trying to tell me that a ghost is responsible for this?" Jackson asked in disbelief.

"The copy has been in search of head to suit him all this time. But no one knows why the murders have been more frequent." Seraph added.

"I think it's very clear why gentlemen, The people of this city have been trying to hide their bad deeds behind closed doors. Their failed faith has saturated the pavement and called forth this Agent from hell." St. James said.

"Excuse me, but seriously. Who has seen ... this Agent?" Jackson asked.

"Many people in the matrix, both human and program have seen him." Seraph said.

"Then, name one person in the mainframe who has seen him with their own eyes." Jackson challenged.

Neither Agent St. James or Seraph could answer. Jackson spoke again.

"Well, I will do everything I can to find this killer, but I will look for a human or a program. Not some Agent from hell."

Jackson excused himself and walked out of the coffee shop. The night was brisk as he breathed the night air deep into his lungs.

"Headless Agent my ass." He said to himself.

He continued to walk down the street, the moon was full and the streets were silent. He could have sworn that there was someone behind him as he heard footsteps. Or was his mind playing tricks on him?

He paused, the footsteps stopped as he quickly turned around. There was no one behind him.

"Okay. My mind is messing with me and it's late." He said to himself.

He continued to walk and then he heard the footsteps again. He continued to walked as he reached inside his jacket to pull out his gun. A few seconds later a black cat howled as it jumped in front of him and ran off. Jackson jumped.

"Jesus Christ!" He took a deep breath.

"Keep it together, Jackson! It was only a cat. I'm an Agent. Agents don't get scared." He said to himself.

He continued to walk as the footsteps got louder, He quickened his pace but it was no use, they were getting closer and closer and closer. Finally he with drew his gun and pointed it in the face of none other than Persephone. He realized it was her and put withdrew his weapon.

"I'm sorry, I..." He started to apologize.

Persephone was holding her chest in fright.

"It was my fault Agent Jackson. I should have let you know it was me in the first place." She said.

Jackson put his gun back in his jacket.

"You scared the shit out of me." He said.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'm cool. What are you doing out this late?" He asked.

"Oh I'm a creature of nocturnal habit really. I usually take my walks at night." She said as she gave the Agent a smile that could melt even the iciest of demeanors.

"What are you doing out?" She asked.

"I had to meet with Seraph and Agent St. James."

"Oh yes, I know her." Persephone said in a dismissive tone.

"I take it you two don't get along?" Jackson asked.

"We tolerate each other." Persephone said.

"It's getting late and I have to be getting home." Jackson offered.

"How about I walk there with you." Persephone offered.

"But how will you get home?"

She pulled out her cell phone.

"I have the twins at my disposal, being the French man's wife has it perks." She answered with a smile.

She dialed the number and not too long after that, One was on the line.

"Hello Mistress. Ready to go home?" He asked.

"Yes, but I'm going to be walking Agent Jackson home first. Can you meet me in front of his apartment in say ten minutes?"

"No problem. Two and I will be there shortly."

"Alright, darlings see you then."

And they hung up leaving Persephone and Jackson to walk over to his apartment building.

Once they were there Persephone kissed Jackson on the cheek and got into the limo where the twins were waiting.

"Have a good night." She said.

"You too." Jackson said still a little surprised by the peck on the cheek.

She watched as Jackson stepped inside and then the limo pulled away. Two looked over his shoulder at Persephone with a smile.

"I think he's kind of cute." Two told her.

Persephone smiled back.

"Yes, he is cute." She agreed.

"Girlfriend, if it were me, I would have jumped him right there." Two said.

"Two you're terrible!" Persephone said.

"Personally I wouldn't mind Agent St. James myself." One said with a grin.

"Ew!" Both Two and Persephone said.

"Hey, I'm the straight one here! I can't help that. I think redheads in black suits are hot." One said.

"But we love you in spite of your imperfections brother dear." Two told him.

One flipped his gay brother the bird.

"Love you too bro." He said with a smile.

Jackson stepped inside of his apartment and flopped down on his bed. Tomorrow would be a new day.


	4. Conversation With Persephone

Chapter 3

It was the very next evening and everyone in the matrix was gathered for a meeting at Club Hel. Jackson walked in and noticed that the huge crowd was both human and program. Niobe, who was now an old woman was in the center of the room holding a small box. The Zion elder began to speak.

"Alright everyone! Gather around and be quiet! As you all know the hour has come to choose for this night. Each person's name in this box has been checked."

Jackson watched from the back of the club as the box was ceremoniously handed to Merv who opened it.

"May the gods of Zion and 01 watch over them." She said.

She unfolded the paper and spoke the name.

"Rama Kandra. Are you here?"

A few seconds later, an older mid-western gentleman with silver hair and a shotgun stepped forward.

"I am. I take my responsibility." The man answered.

A few seconds later an attractive young woman in her mid 20's with long dark hair and olive skin stepped forward and grabbed the old man's arm.

"Please father." The young woman begged.

And then she turned to Niobe to speak.

"He has already been up once my lady. Why does he go again?"

"This is a lottery, Sati. It is just as easily might be anyone here in this room." Her father said.

"Then... I will go with you father." Sati said.

"No, Sati. You will obey my wishes."

He looked into the crowd and saw Merv standing not far away.

"Merv, please look after my daughter." He said.

Merv nodded silently as he took Rama's reluctant daughter out of the room. The poor woman broke down in tears as the Frenchman gently lead her out of the room. Jackson walked up to the sobbing girl as Merv tried to comfort her.

"Everything will be okay. Nothing is going to hurt your father out there." Jackson said handing her a kleenex.

"You really have no clue do you?" She said through her tears.

The crowd watched as Rama Kandra made his way into the night.

Later on that evening Jackson was back at his apartment typing at his computer terminal and out of nowhere he heard a voice that he could have sworn belonged to Persephone.

"You will dream."

Jackson stopped typing for a moment until he heard a knock at the door.

"It's me." It was Persephone.

Jackson looked at himself in the mirror next to the computer and straightened his tie and then he got up to answer the door to find Persephone smiling that sweet warm smile that would make any male human or program melt.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here." Jackson said.

"I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I would drop by and say hello."

They stood there for the longest moment and then finally Jackson spoke..

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" She asked.

"Oh yeah! Come on in." Jackson said.

Persephone entered Jackson's small studio apartment and looked around.

"Sorry, it's not much but I call it home...for now."

"It's not bad, but it could use a woman's touch." She said with a smile.

Jackson grinned at her comment.

"Anyway, what brings you here?" He asked.

"Well I was doing my research and it seems that during earlier versions of the matrix, this whole area used to be an Indian burial ground. The chiefs would hold rituals before their land was taken." She told him.

Jackson could not believe his ears.

"Okay so what you are saying is this supposed curse has stuck in this particular area with every reload of the matrix?"

"Pretty much." Persephone said.

"Okay go on."

"It's also something in the air that dreams come to everyone. Back when this was Indian land, spells were cast and they still linger with each reload. Only they get stronger. You see the battle between machines and humans was small compared to this."

"Okay so what are you saying Persephone?"

"That every living being has a soul, both machine and human. And there is something more sinister here than what meets the eye." She told him.

Jackson was beginning to think Persephone was a nut job until she changed the subject.

"Another reason I stopped by, is that I wanted to apologize for Merv's behavior when you first arrived. There was no excuse for that."

She turned to leave.

"I'll be going now." She said.

Jackson stopped her.

"No, wait I should be the one apologizing. I uh... well... when it comes to meeting new people... I'm just..." Jackson couldn't find the words.

"Shy?" Persephone finished.

"Not really shy. I'm just not good at making small talk with people I just met is all." Jackson confessed.

Jackson offered Persephone a seat on the couch and they sat down together and continued talking.

"Is it just me? Or are you always this nervous around females?"

"Maybe it was because your husband was being an asshole."

"Oh that's just Merv. He gets like that. We have had long talks about his jealously issues. But with no success." Persephone said as she rolled her eyes and spoke about her husband.

"Ah, that would explain his anger issues. Can I offer you anything to drink?" Jackson said.

"Water will be fine." She answered.

Jackson excused himself and went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed two bottles of Evian water. He made his way back to room where Persephone was still sitting on the couch.

"Is bottled water okay?" He asked.

"Of course." Persephone said.

He sat down beside her and she continued to speak.

"You know I have heard a great deal about The Agency. It sounds like a fascinating job you have."

As she spoke, Jackson could not help but be mesmerized by her warm brown eyes and sweet smile. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her, But knowing that she was a married woman he quickly dismissed those thoughts out his head.

"It's okay. But how about you tell me about this headless Agent program." Jackson prodded.

"Not all think that this an Agent program. Many say that witches come from all parts of Zion and the matrix to steal skulls, both human and machine for their rituals. Some believe that a person in this very mainframe kneels before the dark lord, offering death as tribute. And then there are those few that believe it is all a bunch a bullshit stories." She explained.

"So tell me are you superstitious?" He asked.

"To imply that one is superstitious is to imply a fear of magic. But not all magic is black, there is white magic too." She said.

"There's no such thing as magic. We're machines, magic is a human belief."

Persephone cocked her eyebrow at the Agent's comment.

"Really? Then what about the works of William Shakespeare or Emily Dickinson claiming that the proof of magic is in a rose at full bloom, or even in a single tear." She challenged.

"Human poets have silly notions about plants and bodily secretions anyway. We programs don't have to worry about such things."

Persephone let out a small laugh at Jackson's comment.

"You are too funny." She said.

A few moments later the phone rang. A look of fear spread across Persephone's face. Both she and Jackson had a feeling something bad had went down.


	5. Another Victim

Chapter 4

Jackson and Persephone could hear the alarm. The sound pierced the air. Jackson got up quickly to investigate.

"Stay here." He told her.

He ran down the stairs and rushed past Seraph.

"Where are you going?" He asked the Agent.

The alarm was still sounding loudly.

"Jackson, are you crazy?" Seraph called after him.

Jackson was going to get to the bottom of this disturbance.

Meanwhile, Rama was running for his life with his gun at his side. He reached the playground where it all began. There was silence. And the night was clear. The swings on the swing set eerily swung back and forth by themselves. Maybe it was the wind but Rama also noticed that the carousel was slowly spinning around by itself. He could feel a cold wind chilling him to the bone as an ominous fog rolled in. He could hear footsteps behind him and sword slowly being removed from it's sheath. He turned around and was face to face with the most terrifying vision.

"Oh God!" Was all Rama could say.

Standing before was a headless figure in a black Armani suit with what looked like a Japanese kitana in it's right hand. The figure swung at him the kitana and Rama began to run like hell. But it was no use, he was cornered and had no choice but the shoot. He fired his gun, but like a trained Agent program, the figure dodged every shot. It got closer and raised it's sword nearly missing Rama.

Unfortunately Rama tripped and fell to the ground, he was out of ammo and the figure was getting closer. He tried to get up but when he tried to stand he winced in pain. Rama closed his eyes and the last thing he thought about was his daughter, Sati and his wife Charra. His whole life flashed before his eyes and then with one swipe it was all over as fresh blood stained the bricks and his head flew off of his neck. The Headless Agent now had a new trophy as it picked up Rama's head and disappeared into the night.

The very next morning Jackson met with Agents Brown and Johnson. He knew something was up and it wasn't good. He met them at Brown's office. He entered the office and shut the door behind him.

"Please have a seat." Johnson said.

Jackson seated himself.

"Well I was looking on the net last night and to get a little history on the victims." He said as he pulled out a manila envelope from his breast pocket.

He took out the contents and spread them out for his fellow Agents to see. Among the contents were photos of the victims before they were murdered. He pointed to a pointed to a picture of a blonde woman in red.

"Christa Henry, a local lounger singer. He body was found but her head wasn't. She was the first"

And then he pointed to the next picture of an older Asian man who looked like he was in his late 50's with glasses and an apron.

"Will Choi, the second victim found in his locksmith shop. Once again his head was removed and never found."

Jackson produced the last photograph of a young man in what appeared to be his late teens.

"And finally we have a hacker who goes by the name of Kid. He had the misfortune of meeting the killer when he was visiting his family here in the matrix. From what the report says, from an eye witness account in the real world, that when he was beheaded here, his head fell off there too." Jackson said.

"We are dealing with one fucked up program here." Johnson said.

"No shit." Brown answered.

"Did you get any of the locals to talk?" Johnson asked.

"Well from what I gather gentlemen, the fellow programs and humans seem to be quite superstitious and from what I understand, they believe that an Agent program with no head is doing this."

His fellow Agents looked a little perplexed at what Jackson had told them.

"You mean to tell us they believe that an Agent like ourselves..." Johnson began to speak.

"With no head is doing this?" Brown finished.

"Yes, they are saying it's a copy of Smith seeking revenge." Jackson told them.

"Preposterous." Johnson said with a snort.

"I concur." Brown said.

"Well, I can't change their minds, they are dead set on believing that it is a ghost who is committing these murders. Unfortunately last night, there has been a fourth victim." Jackson explained.

"Who?" Brown inquired.

"Rama Kandra. He was found at the original site where it all began with Neo. His head was never found. His body was found early this morning."

"Have you spoken with Agent St. James about this?" Brown asked.

"Yes, she is making the same assumptions as the others who live in that neighborhood."

"Ah St. James, cute but weird." Johnson mused.

"Weird?" Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say her nickname was Spooky." Brown said.

"Spooky?" Jackson cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh never mind Jackson. Anyway she's been watching this case closely. We would suggest you work with her on this one."

"Okay."

He was excused by his fellow agents and made his way back to the neighborhood. Agent St. James was waiting for him at the foot of the steps. She was casually smoking a cigarette.

"That's a nasty habit you know." Jackson told her.

"I know, I just wanted to see what humans get out of smoking. So far it seems pleasurable among other things." She said as she took another drag. Her crimson lips wrapped around the butt as she inhaled.

"And besides, I'm not human. So I'm not really worried about the disease of cancer anyway." She said.

Jackson just stood there in silence.

"But if it bothers you that bad, I'll put it out."

She dropped her smoke on the ground and squashed it with her pump.

"So you heard the found Mr. Kandra's body this morning." St. James said.

"Yes."

Jackson noticed that around her neck was a small pentagram.

"What is that you're wearing around your neck, if you don't mind my asking?" Jackson inquired.

"My talisman actually Agent Jackson. It for protection actually." She explained.

Now Jackson knew why the other Agents nicknamed her Spooky.


	6. Getting Clues

Chapter 5

A few hours later, Jackson went to the murder site with his forensics kit. When he got there, there were several policemen taping off the area. He noticed a long pine box next to the ambulance and the body of the now deceased Rama Kandra that was covered by a sheet as officers were surveying the area. Jackson noticed his body was moved. He was slightly annoyed by this. The Architect, who also served as the coroner of the matrix noticed Jackson and walked over to him.

"Why was the body moved?" Jackson asked.

"We had to move it to place it inside the coffin." The Architect explained.

Jackson nodded as he surveyed the area. He noticed that on the ground were footprints of the same style shoe he wore but only slightly bigger. He crouched down and open his bag and pulled out his insta-matic camera as he snapped pictures of the footprint. He also took out bottled water, a small bowl and small bag of plaster of Paris and a spoon. He mixed it to where it was the right consistency for plaster and poured it into the foot print to make a perfect mold. They others just watched and whispered.

"What the hell are you doing?" It was Merv.

Jackson looked up the Frenchman and spoke.

"You're a connoisseur of fine Italian shoes. Ever see shoes with soles like these?" He said as he handed Merv the snapshots that he had taken just moments before.

Merv just looked at the pictures and shook his head.

"No, Mr. Jackson. I cannot say I have. If so I would have remembered."

Jackson looked in the direction of Jason Locke was also a part of the investigation.

"Mr. Locke, can you show us the exact spot where the body was found?" Jackson asked.

"Yes I can." Locke answered.

Both Merv and Jackson watched as Locke took out a cigarette and lit it. Jackson rose to follow him taking his bag with him. They walked over to where the body was found.

"It was right here, in front of the swings, the body was facing north. It was horrible." Locke told the Agent.

"Can you tell me, to the best of your memory where did the body fall?" Jackson asked him.

Locke pointed at the spot where the neck would have been and where the blood would have been spilt. Jackson put on a pair of latex gloves, took out a spray bottle of luminol and, a black light. He sprayed where Locke said the wound was before they moved the body. Once he finished spraying, he shined the black light where it would show traces of the blood.

"There wasn't much blood, was there?" Jackson asked Locke.

"To be honest I didn't see any." Locke answered.

Jackson got up from the spot and walked over to the pine box where the body was. He took off the sheet revealing Rama's headless corpse. Others couldn't look, while others couldn't help but to look. They all kept their distance from the Agent as he examined the body. He looked closer at the neck wound, he poked the surrounding flesh and even looked closer at the spinal cord where the head had been severed.

"That's weird, no bleeding at all." Jackson said.

"What?" The Architect raised an eyebrow at the Agent's observation.

"He got his head chopped off, so that means he should have lost pints of blood. So his neck should have gone off like Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. So whatever weapon was used, there was instant cauterization to make this murder nice and neat. It burnt the wound shut." Jackson told the old man.

The very next day was the funeral. Sati and her mother wept as Rama's coffin was put into the ground. The Oracle after giving her eulogy stepped forward and threw the first handful of dirt into Rama's grave. Some people at the funeral whispered and some stole glaces at Agent Jackson.

Later that night Agent St. James and The Oracle cleared the table after a big dinner and later joined Persephone, Merv, Sati and her mother for an after dinner drink. Outside the building funeral goers were walking the streets and whispering quietly. Jackson excused himself and headed back up to his apartment to retire for the evening. He was half-way up the stairs until he was confronted by a very brooding Sati.

"Listen, I'm not here for any type of vendetta. I just want to bring the killer to justice." Jackson told her.

"Yeah sure, whatever. You're going to need an assistant anyway." Sati told him.

Jackson took a deep sigh.

"I work alone." He said.

"Maybe you're not getting how much this means to me dammit! He was my father... and he meant so much to me." Tears were starting to form in her eyes as she spoke.

His heart went to her but he couldn't just bring her along. He knew deep down it would be on his conscience if something bad were to happen to her too.

"Listen Sati, I'm very sorry about your dad. But I can't risk anything happening to you."

Sati sadness turned to anger.

"You know what Agent Jackson? You can go fuck yourself!"

And then she left. Jackson stood there impassive to her response.

The next day, Jackson went to see The Architect and Seraph.

"Hello Agent Jackson. How are you?" Seraph said.

"I could be better. I was cussed out by a young girl who just lost her father last night."

Jackson noticed that The Architect was looking out in the distance at what appeared to be an older gentleman of Native American descent.

"Who's that?" Jackson asked.

"Oh him. He's been around since the first matrix. He lives on a reservation in the mainframe. Sometimes he will venture into our part of the matrix and do some exploring." The Architect said.

"If you ask me, I think he is our killer." Seraph said.

"Now why would you assume that?" Jackson asked.

"Well, these programs in particular tend to be more savage than we who are more advanced." The Architect said.

Jackson had never seen an Indian program up close but he couldn't help but think that maybe both Seraph and The Architect were being a little ignorant.

"Just because they are less evolved programs doesn't mean that a killer could be among them. Besides from what I understand, they are a simple group of machines. Besides when was the last time an Indian program wore expensive Italian shoes?" Jackson asked them.

"So what are you saying?" Seraph asked him.

"That the killer could easily be a program who is just as advanced as we are." Jackson told them.

"Touche'." The Architect said.

"Anyway what will become of Sati and her mother?" Seraph asked.

"They will be taken care of by Merv since he has agreed to take them in for the time being." The Architect explained.

Jackson went to the cemetery a few hours later to speak with Niobe.

"You want to what?" Niobe was angry at what Jackson had suggested.

"Listen, if we want to catch the killer I have exhume the bodies of the previous victims." He told her.

Niobe looked to the men with shovels and then over to Locke.

"Jason, please don't tell me you're not going along with this." Niobe begged.

Locke just looked at her with a helpless expression.

"This is bullshit! I can't allow this!" Niobe said angrily.

Jackson pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her.

"You can talk to my bosses if you want, I have them on speed dial." Jackson told her.

"Fine you win!" Niobe said in frustration.

Jackson motioned for the crew to unearth the victims. Niobe just stood there seething with anger and then finally walked away.

Jackson opened the first coffin and he became shocked at what he saw and then his shocked turned to anger.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" He asked the crew.

It was the first victim, Christa Henry but her belly looked like that of an expectant mother and she looked very far along. He noticed a tear in her maternity dress as he placed his hand on the stomach. He stood up and was now deeply troubled by what he had just seen.


	7. Awaking Dream

Chapter 6

Back in the morgue, Jackson and The Architect studied Ms. Henry's very pregnant headless corpse. They were both wearing green scrubs and masks. Jackson took a pair of scissors and cut through the dress exposing the body. The Agent noticed a rather large stab wound in the abdomen. The Architect just watched as Jackson continued with the examination. Jackson took out a tape recorder and started to speak into it.

"Victim appears to have not only lost her head, but it appears that she had suffered trauma to the stomach before dying." He clicked off the recorder and looked over to The Old Man.

"Can you tell me what the MO was among these victims?" Jackson asked.

"I'm not sure." The Architect answered.

"Well we have to find that link. If this were a serial killer, he or she would only go after one type of victim. There has got to be a reason that these victims all so different from all walks of life were chosen." Jackson pondered.

He continued to look at Christa Henry's corpse and then he spoke again to the old man.

"The wounds are all the same with every victim. Cauterized. They weren't chopped off by just any old sword. I think this weapon was a little more advanced."

Jackson pointed to the spinal bone.

"I mean look at this! If the head would have been chopped off, the bone would have been shattered. Judging by the cut, it went through like a hot knife through butter." Jackson told him.

The Architect looked unnerved by Jackson's observation. And then he finally spoke.

"Listen, you can use the morgue anytime. But please let this poor woman rest."

Jackson looked up at the old man who now had a look of concern on his face. The Agent wondered what the creator of the matrix was hiding. Never had The Architect shown emotion for a fellow program or human, so why was this dead woman any different?

"I will return her in time Architect. Just as soon as I finish. It won't take long, I promise." He told the old man.

The Architect nodded and left the room and let Jackson continue his examination on the body.

Early that evening, Jackson made his way back to the cemetery as he re-buried the bodies he examined. He looked towards the church and saw Seraph standing in the doorway and giving him a hard look.

"A great evil has sent you here Agent Jackson and the Gods of Zion and 01 will not forgive your sins." Seraph told him.

Jackson didn't say a word as he watched Seraph close the doors behind Seraph with a loud creak.

Later that might Jackson was sound asleep and dreaming. He dreamt back to a time when he was ten years old. It was dark and he was in bed pretending to be asleep. His door was open and he saw his mother. She looked like she was talking to someone but nobody was there. He heard a drawer being shut and out of the corner of his eye he saw his mother leave the room.

Being a curious child he went to investigate and walked into his mother's bedroom. He slowly walked up to his mother's chest of drawers and opened the top drawer. Inside he found a silver pendant in what looked to be a very intricate design and in the middle of it was a red stone. He looked at it for a minute and then he heard a noise. It was his mother coming up the stairs. He placed the item back quickly and hurried back into bed before his mother would see him.

Jackson's dream switched to the mall, it was Halloween and he was with his father who was an exact duplicate of himself, only he didn't smile and he showed no emotion. Jackson stayed by his father's side but something out of the ordinary caught his attention.

Across the way his mother and another woman were engaged in an argument. The woman was tall and dark haired and dressed in a shiny black outfit, she also wore dark sunglasses to cover her eyes so Jackson couldn't really tell what the lady looked like. The shouting match between his mother and the woman in the shiny black outfit got louder. People in the mall stopped to watch. Jackson couldn't make out the words, but he could tell that Shiny Black Suit Lady was very angry. And shiny Black Suit Lady pulled out a gun and pointed it at his mother's head. The last thing jackson heard were screams.

Jackson thrashed in his bed as lightening flashed and thunder clapped outside and then he jerked wide awake in his bed. He was no longer that ten year old boy. He heard noises coming from down the hall and decided to investigate. He wore nothing but his boxers, so he put on his slippers and a bathrobe and walked out into the hallway and down the stairs where he found Persephone reading what looked like a very ancient and dusty book. She was reading it by a very moderately lit nightlight. Sensing that Jackson was near she quickly closed the book and looked over in Agent Jackson's direction.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you. I thought someone broke in." Jackson said.

"No you didn't disturb me Agent Jackson. Please feel free to have a seat." She offered.

She took one look at the Agent program and could tell something was wrong with his programming.

"Are you having trouble sleeping?" She asked.

"Can I ask why you closed your book so quickly when I came downstairs?" Jackson inquired.

Persephone gave him a flirtatious smirk.

"My, my, you do pay attention to detail don't you? You see I read these here because Merv would not approve unless it is the Holy Book of both Zion and 01." Persephone told him.

"I have something to show you." Jackson told her.

Persephone looked perplexed.

"Do you have a moment." He asked her.

"Yes, of course." She answered.

"I'll be right back."

He raced back upstairs to grab his laptop computer. A few moments later he was right back at her side. He opened his laptop and as he did so, Persephone noticed his hands which were evenly scared. No Agent program was scared, least not to her knowledge. She touched his hand.

"I've never seen an Agent program such as yourself with scars. How did you get them?" She asked.

"I don't know really. I've had them since my creation. I can't remember how I got them." Jackson explained.

"It would be interesting to find out." She said.

Their eyes met for only a brief moment and Jackson quickly looked away and averted his eyes back to the screen. He pulls up a drawing of what appears to be a bird in a cage. As if by magic he pulled it off the screen and handed it to Persephone. He continued to speak.

"Okay here it is. You got a bird on one side right?"

Persephone nodded. He flipped the card over and showed a picture of a cage on the opposite side. He manipulated the mainframe enough to where it was spinning on it's own between his hands.

"Now as you see the bird is in his cage right?" Jackson asked.

"Yes."

"He only appears to be inside the cage, so the point being..."

"You manipulated the matrix to make this." She said.

"Yes but listen the illusion is easily explained. Humans have been doing it for years. The eye retains each image until they combine. Humans would call this some sort of magic." Jackson said.

"Well you can why Agent Jackson. Just put that mechanical brain of yours aside."

She started to spin it.

"Can't you see what is impossible?" She asked him.

Jackson just shook his head. Persephone thought too much like a human in a way. With a deep sigh Persephone stopped spinning the disc and looked back at him.

"You are hopeless." She said with slight laugh.

"You can keep it if you want. But..." He offered.

"Then I have a gift for you as well Agent Jackson. True magic even a logical program such as yourself cannot deny." Persephone said.

And before he could protest, she handed him a large book entitled The Complete Works of Sir William Shakespeare.

"Thanks but no thanks." He told her.

"No, I insist that you have it." She told him.

At that point, Jackson knew that resistance was futile.

"Well okay but it's going to collect dust." He said.

"Well that would be terrible. His works might show you something you have never even seen before."

Jackson got retrieved his laptop and the book and headed upstairs. As he entered his room he sat down on his bed and began to read the book that Persephone had given him.

The very next day, Jackson met with Morpheus who was now an old man, he couldn't run as fast as he used too but he still had that demeanor about him as one the greatest human leaders that ever lived. The patriarch of Zion did not look too pleased when he spoke with the Agent. They met at a park, it was cold and windy and it looked like rain.

"Not more than a year ago, a man was executed for hacking the government. Hacking the government man! And you have the nerve to dig up both the dead, both human and machine?" Morpheus said with an angry tone.

"Are you saying I should be scared. Hello! I'm an Agent program, we don't know fear. If you recall during the war, it was you who were afraid of us. Is this some sort of message passed along by Seraph?" Jackson asked him.

There was a long silence between the two men.

"Listen, Jackson, the war is over. It has been for a very long time. There is peace on both sides and humans and machines are finally getting along after the Gods know how long." The old man told him.

"I know that." The Agent answered.

"Because of this rogue Agent program or whatever the hell it is. Zion's operatives are fleeing for their lives. There is a danger that peace will be threatened. So if you are going to help us, you are going to have to stop this Headless Agent. That is your purpose Agent Jackson." Morpheus tol him.

"For a leader of Zion, you are not making any sense. Do you know how stupid this is sounding coming from you?"

Morpheus' eyes flashed with anger at the young Agent program as he continued to speak.

"No, you listen! You may thing that all humans and some programs are superstitious and weak..."

"Well, yes I admit that I think that." Jackson confessed.

Morpheus shook his head in disappointment.

"When are you going to realize that this is not a game Agent Jackson. This is serious."

The wind whipped around both men and it started to howl. All of a sudden the sky turned black. Morpheus looked in terror, he knew something bad was about the happen. Both men face the playground as the concrete opened and out came the Agent from hell with a leap and a long Japanese sword as its side.

"Oh my God!" It was the only thing that came out of the Zion leader's mouth when he saw the horrific site.

The ground shook and both men were knocked off their feet. The Agent walked slowly towards the men and drew its sword from its sheath.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Morpheus said as he scrambled to his feet.

He began to run and Jackson followed after him as the headless program drew near. Even though Morpheus was old he could still run just as fast. They both leaped from roof top to roof top but the Agent from hell kept up with them. Finally Morpheus fell and couldn't go on. He gathered all of his courage ans stopped running. Jackson looked as the headless figure raised its sword to the old leader of Zion as he raised a talisman. But it would do no good. All Jackson could do was watch in terror from the rooftop across the way as Morpheus' head flew off it's shoulders, flew across the air and landed at Jackson's feet.

He drew out his Desert Eagle and fired as the Agent from hell leaped in mid air towards him. He didn't understand. The bullets should have hit it, but they were useless against the demon.. It landed in front of him. They were both frozen for what seemed like an eternity and without warning the Agent skewered Morpheus' head with the sword and raised it above its shoulders like it was a prize. Jackson watched frozen in fear as the figure leaped from out in front of him and disappeared into the night. He felt weak and his knees buckled beneath him. The whole mainframe seemed like it was spinning and then everything went to black.

Jackson was dreaming. He was a boy of ten again and this time he was at home. The wind howled outside and he could hear the rain pounding heavily against the window. He was scared but he knew his mother would rush to his side and comfort him. She was beautiful, just like he remembered. Her warm brown eyes and her sandy blonde hair. Her touch would always calm him down when he was scared at night.

"It's okay sweetheart. Mommy's here." She said.

And then the dream switched to the kitchen where he saw his mother melting wax and pouring it into a mold which looked a form of a person. The wax was shiny and black and reminded him of Shiny Black Suit Lady.

The dream switched again to Shiny Black Suit Lady looking very sad and looking very weak. She had a look of hatred in her eyes as she carried a bundle in a blanket. She fell down weeping and he noticed something dropping out of the blanket. It was a black cat, limp and lifeless aong with it were her kittens that were still born. The woman cried and screamed. Jackson couldn't help but be very scared.

The dream switched again, this time to his mother being taken away by Agents. They escorted her to a car. Jackson ran after her and the two men. One of the men looked older and had grey hair. That Agent was none other than Agent Mather. He was not like any other Agent program in the matrix, he was villainous and frightening.

"No mommy! No!" Jackson screamed as the bad men were taking her away.

"The night of the storm, I saw her sign in my windows." The Shiny Black Suit Lady told the men in black.

The scene switched again to a courtroom. Many people were there. Both human and program. Agent Mather stood in front Shiny Black Suit Lady who was now on the witness stand.

"Are you sure it was her?" Agent Mather asked.

The woman just glared at Jackson's mother as she spoke.

"Yes, I saw her mark." She pointed in the direction of Jackson's mother. "Her, Mrs. Emily Jackson."

His mother sat in handcuffs not saying a word.

"I will never forget it, the next minute I found my cat and her babies dead. I know she manipulated the mainframe somehow!"

Gasps could be heard all over the court room. Jackson was sitting next to his father and for the forst time he showed emotion as tears rolled down his face. He took off his dark shades and started to cry openly, shaking violently.

The scene switched again to the night of the storm and his mother holding him close.

"Don't be scared sweety. Mommy's here." Her voice being calm and reassuring as the thunder rolled and the lightening lit up the night sky.

A loud knock woke Jackson with a jerk. He was in his apartment. He looked down at his hands that were balled into fists. He opened them to discover that both half of Morpheus' talisman were in each hand.

"What the fuck is going on here?" He said out loud to himself.


	8. Encounter With the Witch

Chapter 7

The knocking continued.

"It's Persephone." Said the voice on the other end.

Jackson crawled out of bed and walked to the door. He opened it to find Persephone with a bag of Chinese take-out.

"I thought you might be hungry." She said.

Jackson said nothing as Persephone came in and set the bag of food on the table. She looked to the corner and had noticed the plaster cast of the foot print smashed to pieces. She had a feeling something was wrong.

"You did promise that the killer would be brought to justice." Persephone told him.

"This is no ordinary program. What good am I doing by being here anyway?" There was doubt in Jackson's voice as he spoke.

She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"The people of Mega City have put their trust in you Agent Jackson."

"Who are we kidding here Persephone? They don't have faith that I can stop this... thing."

"Won't they still have justice Agent Jackson? Or was it all bullshit?"

Jackson just paced the apartment and sat down at the edge of his bed. With a heavy sigh he put his head in his hands because somehow he knew the Frenchman's wife was right. A few moments later they heard someone running. It was Sati who came in she was out of breath and there was a look of distress on her face.

"Agent Jackson..." She was out of breath.

"Sati, what happened?" Jackson tried to calm the girl who was now hysterical.

"Something bad has happened." She said.

"What?" The Agent asked.

Sati ran like hell down the hallway. Jackson and Persephone followed as she flew down the stairs and into the street where a group of people were gathered in the park. Jackson and Persephone made their way through the crowd. Once he got to the front of the crowd, the Indian that he had seen when he met with Seraph and The Architect was being hung from the tree as crowd gathered around.

"We don't need you Agent Jackson." It was Merv.

The Merovingian strode towards the Agent from the group of men who were doing the lynching. Seraph was also there.

"The men who have done this have been found. We do not require your services any longer." Merv told him.

Merv pointed to The Twins who looked like they were beaten very badly. Both of them were in handcuffs and shackles, two soldiers from Zion were armed and guarding them. One spoke up.

"You should be thanking us. The killings will now come to an end!" The albino said.

"Shut up!" The Zion soldier shouted as he hit, One in the stomach with the butt his machine gun.

"They will spend 48 hours in jail." Merv said.

"48 hours? For murder? You have got to be kidding me?" Jackson asked.

"For jay walking. Or do you suggest that we re-write the laws of the mainframe now that old Morpheus is dead?" Seraph asked.

Jackson looked at the hanging Indian.

"Doesn't look like he was jaywalking to me." Jackson said.

Locke made his way to the Indian's dead corpse. He climbed the tree and cut the rope letting the dead Indian fall. The corpse landed hard and in a heap on the ground. Jackson watched and noticed something. In the Indian's hand was a silver circle with a star in the middle.

"Wait a second." Jackson spoke.

The Agent knelt got a closer look, he took the odd piece of jewelry and he noticed that there was something else. The mouth was open, and he could see cavity ridden teeth. Jackson grabbed a twig nearby and pried the corpse's mouth open so he could get a better look inside. And then he grabbed a small digital camera out of his pocket and started snapping pictures of the inside of his mouth,

Back in his apartment, Jackson looked closer at the talisman. And then he looked closely at the pictures that he uploaded from his camera onto his laptop computer. He sat just sat there staring at it like he was in a trance. He took out his pocket recorder and started to speak into it.

"The Indian had much to tell when I opened his mouth. But how do I know this? Anyone with next to nothing for dental care would have their teeth rotted out by his age. His teeth were in way better shape than those of the Train Man. I am assuming he could not have taken care of his teeth all by himself. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion, that he may have had a regular dentist."

Jackson clicked off the recorder .

The very next day Jackson made his way to the local observatory, Sati was with him. He noticed that a caravan at least six cars were making their way up the road.

"What's that?" He asked the girl.

"Oh them, it's Pay Day so it happens on the last day of every month just like clockwork." She explained.

Jackson pointed to the horizon which showed a view of Mega City.

"Tell me what do you see?" He asked.

"The park where The Oracle used to take me when I was little." She told him.

"Look again." He told her.

She saw a plume of smoke rising from the woods in the park.

"Oh my God! That's smoke!" She paused. "But that's not regular campfire smoke, that's..."

"Chimney smoke." Jackson finished.

Jackson took out a small rectangular object out of his pocket.

"Are you familiar with compasses at all Sati?" He asked.

"Yeah sure why?" She asked.

"If there is an entity of some sort, this will help detect it." Jackson told her.

He held the compass in his hand and Sati watched as the needle moved.

"Now if this park is truly a part of the mainframe they call Hell, we will see it for ourselves."

Sati felt uneasy.

"My father said that witches live there." She told him.

Jackson let out a deep sigh.

"Witches don't exist Sati. However..."

He looked at the compass and marked where the needle hit as he continued to speak.

"Not long ago, I would have said the same thing for the Headless Agent." He finished saying.

A voice from below called to Jackson.

"Agent Jackson! I need to speak with you! Alone!" It was Persephone and by the look she gave she did not look too happy with him.

Jackson and Persephone were back at his apartment. He could tell she was pissed off by the tone in her voice.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She shouted.

"Listen, I have to be thorough here, even if that means leaving no stone unturned. I don't mean to be heartless about this..." He started to say but Persephone interrupted him.

"I was wrong about you. I had no idea that you could be so disrespectful of the dead Agent Jackson!" Her voice started to shake.

"You not thinking clearly Persephone. When I examined Ms. Henry's body, I discovered that she had been run through with a sword. I followed the path of that wound and it pierced the heart of the baby she was carrying. And then I couldn't understand why there was that much blood. I couldn't comprehend it until I saw the Agent with my own eyes." Jackson explained.

"What the hell are you talking about." Persephone inquired.

"The baby she was carrying was eight months old and she was damned close to delivering. The sword pierced the baby's heart exactly." He told her.

"I don't want to hear this Jackson." She was now shaking.

"I'm telling you, whoever or whatever did this knew what the hell they were doing, this was not the work of someone who was blind. This single thrust found it's target the very first time. It was like the Agent made certain that the baby died with their mother." He continued to speak.

"And this is supposed to be some sort of slaughter?" Persephone asked him.

"No it wasn't slaughter at all." Jackson said.

"Well what the hell is it then? Scientific perhaps? How can any of this matter anyway?" Persephone was now irritated.

"I don't know! All I know is that I can't ignore it anymore dammit!" Jackson shouted.

There was a long pause between them and then Persephone broke the silence.

"Take a lesson from young Sati, Agent Jackson. She followed you to the observatory today to avenge her father's death. That I can understand completely. But do you want?" She asked.

"To avenge her father... and the others." He answered.

"But why? Tell me why?" She prodded.

Jackson just stood there silent as she looked into his deep blue eyes searching for an answer.

"You can't even answer because you strive for perfection without even putting your whole heart into it. Can't you see that? You'll bring dignity to the dead even if you have to dissect them like frogs in science class to do it." She said.

Her words cut through him like a knife and made him angry and he spoke the words he would soon come to regret.

"You know something? If it had been surgery to save someone's life, you wouldn't be questioning my motives. Not for one goddamned second! So let me be the first to tell you lady, on the other side of this mainframe, there is a whole fucking world that is far more advanced in such asinine thinking like yours. And let me tell you another thing, no matter how scared you are of it, advancement will come to wake this part of the mainframe out of its sleep!"

Persephone looked pissed and then she stormed out. But before she left she said on last thing.

"Agent Jackson?"

"Yes?"

"If that is the way you think, then you can go fuck yourself." And then she flipped him off.

Jackson looked as she walked down the hallway.

"Oh yeah? Well fuck you too!" He said as he flipped her off right back.

He stormed back inside and slammed the door behind him. A feeling of regret washed over him over the words he had with Persephone.

"Shit!" He said out loud to himself as he pounded his head against the door.

The next day Jackson drove to the park and he was followed by a search team and they made their way into the park. They made their way to the abandoned playground. Even though it was daytime it still dark and creepy. The men behind Jackson stopped.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Listen." Said a man in the group

To the Agent's surprise he could hear nothing

"I hear nothing." He said.

"Not even the wind." The man said.

Jackson all of a sudden felt uneasy. He took out his compass and it pointed directly into the woods. The Agent pointed the way to group to follow him. Unbeknownst to the group someone was in the shadows watching. The group continued walking until they reached what looked like a small shack. The group felt uneasy. Jackson saw that smoke rose from the chimney.

"Looks like we're here guys." Jackson told the group.

Jackson walked up to the door, reluctantly he knocked. There was no answer so he stepped inside to investigate. Then he stepped into the living area where he saw an older woman in her 60's sitting by the fire. She had grey hair and was plump. She was watching a soap opera on a small color TV and she looked like she was engrossed in the program.

"Excuse me ma'am. You didn't answer when I knocked. Am I intruding?" He asked.

The old woman looked in the Agent's direction

"Are you from Mega City?" She asked.

"Sort of." He answered.

Jackson looked around the living room and at it's strange decor. He noticed animal skulls and strange symbols. He also noticed what looked like ceremonial knives. He took the talisman the Indian was holding out of his pocket.

"The Indian who lived in these woods... did you know him?" He felt uneasy talking to her but continued to speak anyway.

"I should tell you... he's been murdered."

The old woman scowled at him.

"Get out of my house. You're not welcome here." She said in a menacing tone.

She placed something on the table next to her, it was a dead bright red cardinal. Jackson felt fearful as he backed away.

"Do you seek a remedy against the Agent?" She asked.

She stood facing him. All Jackson could do was nod.

"Follow me." The old woman instructed.

She took a flashlight and Jackson followed her down the stairs to her cellar. The ceiling was low and the cellar stunk of mold as they descended down the steps to her lair.

"I hear him. He runs to the Mega City and back." The old woman said.

"The Agent. Yes." Jackson answered her.

"Sit down." She instructed.

Without saying a word, Jackson sat on a crooked metal stool. The old woman kneeled with her back to him as she gathered straw into a pile on the floor.

"Can you help?" Jackson asked her.

"You want to see into the nether world... I can show you. Whatever you see, do not move, do not speak. I will hold him." She said.

Jackson watched as the old woman gathered bowls as she put powder and grass into a pile.

"What are you doing?" Jackson asked.

The old woman turned to him with a stern look on her face.

"Quiet Agent." She said.

He watched as she took jars from the table next to her. She poured what looked like ashes into a pile, she took out a baby bat and cut it's head off saturating the straw with blood. As she did this she began to speak in what sounded like Latin. She took a Zippo lighter and lit the straw. She then took out a pair of handcuffs and put them on making sure she was locked in tight. She then bent to inhale the smoke.

"He comes now." The old woman said.

Jackson wanted to leave but he couldn't.

Outside, Jackson's team looked up to the sky which was now growing dark. Through the trees, the clouds were billowing and blocking out the sun.

Back in the cellar the old woman slumped and with her back still to Jackson. She did not move at all. Outside he could hear the wind howling and then rain. The flashlight went out and Jackson stood up. He was worried.

"Uhm... excuse me."

The old woman remained motionless. But the wind outside got louder. Jackson saw the skin of the old woman change before his eyes. The woman's hands were swelling in the cuffs, her skin cracking bleeding. Jackson inched closer.

"Are you okay?"

The old woman turned and in her place was a hideous half-program half-demon creature. Its clawed hands reaching for the Agent.

"JESUS!" Was all Jackson could say.

Thankfully the handcuffs had chains that attached the monster to the wall. Jackson hit the floor, knocking over a table of bones. The creature screeched as it still reached for him. The old woman's face transformed. She now had red eyes, jagged teeth and dripping nostrils. A voice from hell came from its mouth.

"You seek the program bathed in blood...the Headless Agent."

Jackson slid back as far as possible while the creature clawed at the floor.

"Follow the trail where the sun dies. Follow to the tree of the dead where Smith and his army buried him." The creature said.

The creature continued to pull at the chains. One of the bolts slipped and fell to the floor. The chains were coming loose.

"Climb down to the Agent's soulless place and let loose his silent screams! Do you hear? Do you hear it?"

All Jackson could do was nod. He glanced to the exit. The chain to continued to give even more. The creature continued to speak.

"He who holds the Agent's desire will guide by his reaping hand. Catch hold of his desire."

Jackson bolted for the door, the creature bolted after him, howling as it did so. He ran up the stairs as the chain broke. He cried out as he was tackled to the floor. It was the old woman who was now back in her own form. She was unconscious as Jackson shoved her off and quickly. He walked quickly outside. The men in his party could tell something happened.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Jackson said.

He headed to his car while the others followed. He was too shaken to speak about what he had just witnessed.


	9. Chaos

Chapter 8

The party walked along the streets until it grew dark. They carried flashlights to light their way as Jackson lead them. It wasn't raining. Finally they came to a tree in the perfectly manicured park. It stuck out among the others. The other trees were perfect, while this one looked quite eerie and out of place. A bird screeched making the Agent jump. He looked up as the bird flew away into the night.

"This must be the place." Jackson said out loud to himself.

"Do you think we should go back?" Locke suggested.

"No." Jackson told the human. "We've come too far now. I think we should stay until morning."

The group unpacked and set up camp for the night. Locke got a fire going and Jackson just looked up holding his Desert Eagle close at his side while he looked up at the stars. He watched as the leaves and branches shifted in the wind and birds flew wildly. Locke took a seat next to him.

"What do you think it means? Climb down into the Agent's soulless place." Locke asked.

"Beats the hell out of me. Personally, I really don't want to find out." Jackson told him. "He who holds the Agent's desire will guide his reaping hand. And what ever that is, I know that it includes taking lives."

They heard a snapping branch and Jackson quickly drew his gun.

"Don't move." He told Locke.

Jackson rose and crept forward with his gun and a flashlight. The bushes were thick and the crunching of leaves were heard. He crouched and put down the flashlight. He picked up a stray branch and threw it. It was a ferret that quickly scampered away. Jackson rose following with his gun.

Something was watching the Agent and he spun almost blind sided. A shot ran out and something that resembled a wolf fell to the ground whimpering. Jackson stepped in to get a closer look and realized that the wolf had two heads. One of the heads being blown to bits. Jackson lifted his gu and put the animal out of it's misery as he fired. After he had done so, he threw up.

"What the fuck? Oh Jesus Christ." Was all he could say.

He looked through the woods and saw a distant fire. He gathered his men and ran in the direction of the blaze. It had come from the direction of the home of the old witch. By the time they got there it was too late. Flames swirled everywhere and at the entrance was the old woman laying there and headless.

The very next day there was a meeting in neighborhood and Seraph addressed the crowd in an angry tone.

"You all stand there with your thumbs up your asses, while this sad excuse for an Agent program, who by the way is supposed to be protecting us goes about with his bag of tricks. You are all standing there jerking off or whatever while something evil is terrorizing this part of the mainframe." Seraph shouted at he crowd.

Agent St. James, Persephone and The Architect all watched at a safe distance as Seraph continued to speak.

"I say if you sit there and do nothing, then you are just as irresponsible as Agent Jackson!" Seraph angrily told the crowd.

Niobe walked up to the platform where Seraph was standing and it was her turn to speak.

"Listen up people! If you want to continue to keep the peace between the humans and the machines. We have to remain calm." She told them.

Seraph turned to her and spoke.

"And how in the hell do you expect us to stay calm. Agent Jackson brought the body of that crazy old woman into our sector!"

Later that night, Jackson was in the morgue examining the woman. He took out his recorder and started to speak into it. He continued to examine the woman who was now headless.

"Obviously she didn't go quietly. The wound is not smooth or cauterized in any way and when her head was severed from her body she flowed like Old Faithful." He said into the recorder.

He lifted her right hand which had bruises and cuts on it.

"And apparently she put up one hell of a fight."

He clicked off the recorder and took more notes as he continued to examine the body.

A few moments later there was a knock at The Architect's door. The old man paced as The Oracle sat nervously rocking her chair. The angry crowd was lead by none other than Seraph.

"Open up! Or we will break the damned door down!" Seraph yelled.

Jackson was still downstairs examining the body until he heard the noise, he rushed upstairs to se what was going on. Once he got to the foot of the stairs, he surprised to see and angry Seraph leading a crowd of equally people. He stepped in front of The Architect.

"Step aside Agent." Said a big burly man as he shoved him out of the way knock his dark glasses off.

"What the hell is going on?" Jackson shouted.

The burly man just slammed Jackson against the wall as the crowd made their way to the examination room where the corpse was held. The group grasped the corpse and hauled it upstairs. Jackson grasped one of the men.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He yelled.

He didn't say anything as he just slammed the Agent against the wall.

The crowd carried the corpse out of the house and towards a raging bonfire. The mob made way as Seraph cheered them on.

"Burn the witch!" Seraph yelled.

Jackson ran but it was too late. The corpse was thrown into the fire as the crowd cheered. A man tried to grab at Jackson's tape recorder and they struggled and rolled on the ground with Jackson throwing several punches into the man's face. Off in the distance Persephone watched as her emotion were conflicted. She watched as other men in the crowd grabbed Jackson, one them kicking him in the balls, another punching him in the face and breaking his nose. Persephone not being able to stand idly by any longer charged at the men.

"Persephone! What are you doing?" The Architect called out.

She didn't hear the old man as she kicked and punched and threw several men off Jackson.

"Stop it God dammit! Leave him alone!" She shouted as she punched a man in the face and then kicking the balls of another making him double over in pain.

Several shots rang out and the chaos stopped. Everyone in the crowd turned and there was silence. It was Merv holding a machine gun. At his side were Locke and Sparks.

"Let him go..." Merv said menacingly as he cocked his machine gun "now!"

The crowd did as the Frenchman told them and released Agent Jackson. They were in no position to argue. Seraph was angry as he pushed people aside as he walked to the front of the crowd.

"So are you now Agent Jackson's protector Frenchmen?" Seraph asked in a mocking tone.

"Only for the moment Monsieur." He answered.

"Then are you taking his side?" Seraph asked.

"No. I agree that he has only made matters in our little corner of the mainframe worse. But I believe that will change if you agree to listen." Merv told him.

He traded his machine gun with Sparks' long shiny silver Baretta. The Frenchman produced a hollow silver bullet.

"My men and I will offer to patrol the area each day and night and watch over the neighborhood. We will stalk the border and haunt the Agent for a change. With guns like this and bullets like this."

Merv brought the bullet up to his lips and blew. It made a high pitch whistling sound.

"As you can see it is hollowed out and can cause some serious damage." Merv told him.

The Frenchman looked down at his wife and smile at her. Persephone seemed unimpressed.

"As you can see Agent Jackson is not the only one that fights with science on his side." Merv said smugly.

"Excuse me. I fired upon the Headless Agent and my bullets didn't do shit. So what makes you think that yours are any different?" Jackson challenged.

"Well maybe you weren't aiming at your target Agent Jackson." Merv told him.

"Uh yeah right! I know damned well I hit that son-of-a-bitch." Jackson answered.

"Well if the Agent is solid enough to take the lives of both human and program, then I think the bastard is solid enough to feel this."

And with that Merv aimed his Baretta at a far off gas tank. He fired and not less than a second later, it exploded.

Later that night Jackson was back in his apartment and having nightmares once again. He was a young boy again and he was sitting next to his father in the courtroom. It was the only time he had ever seen his father cry. The woman in the shiny black suit took the stand. Agent Mather approached the stand preparing to question her.

The woman started to speak.

"It was her. Mrs. Emily Jackson...I will never forget it. The next moment I found that my cat was dead with a mark on its chest." She told the jury.

"Can you describe this welt on your cat?" Agent Mather asked.

"It was a blood welt." The woman said as she teared up and shook on the stand.

"No further questions." Agent Mather then turned to jury as he began to speak. "You heard it here folks, Mrs. Emily Jackson manipulated the matrix to harm the defendant's beloved pet. What she did was against the rules. Now imagine if my client had done that to a child, imagine if it was your child or beloved pet that this atrocity was done to. What would you do? That is why I am asking you as a jury to decide on what you see fit. Me personally, I hope that you will vote for her deletion ... immediately."

The crowd murmured in fear as young Jackson watched his father sit there with clench fist in silence as his face showed no emotion whatsoever.

The dream flashed to the kitchen. They had ordered pizza that night. His father couldn't eat, all he could do was stare at his food.

"She was with me daddy." Jackson told him.

"I feel so lost right now." He said to himself.

"Daddy, she was with me that night." He said but it seemed like his father didn't listen.

The dream changed to an empty church where young Jackson walked up to an Agent who was armed. He tugged on the man's jacket.

"May I see my mom?"

The Agent turned to the child.

"Go home." He said.

Tears formed in the boy's eyes.

"I just want to see my mom. Please."

The Agent took off his glasses and looked down at the boy.

"Listen son, you shouldn't be here. Go home to your dad okay."

Jackson shook as he spoke.

"My mom didn't do it dammit! Please listen to me." He pleaded.

"I'm sorry kid. But she's guilty." The Agent told him.

"That's bullshit! She's innocent!" He shouted.

"Listen up kid. She confessed."

"You're lying!" The boy yelled as he started to shake and tears streamed down his face.

"She confessed and signed a legal document. Do you know what that is kid?"

All Jackson could do was nod.

"The only thing you can do now is pray for your mom." And with that he went back behind the door.

The dream changed again to Jackson's bedroom from when he was a child. He was getting dressed. He looked out the window and into the lawn. He noticed that his father was packing their things into a large moving truck. He ran downstairs. His father turned to him.

"We're moving son." Was all he could say and then he after a long moment his father spoke again. "Your mom is gone son."

Jackson ran across the yard as his father called after him. He was crying as he ran to the church. The man's voice was in his head.

_She has confessed._

_She has signed a legal document._

The voice just kept talking in his head.

"Mom!" He screamed.

He ran into the church only to be greeted by a large metal chair with straps and electrodes. Next to it was a switch. He sobbed as he slammed his hands down. He didn't realize that an electrical current was still running through as he accidentally electrocuted himself.

Jackson bolted upright, he was in his own bed once more. He was crying. He brought his hands o wipe his cheeks and he as looked at his hands he noticed that they were freshly burned.

Later that evening, Jackson sat alone by the fireplace. His eyes were puffy and his palms were wrapped in ACE bandages.

"Agent Jackson?" It was Persephone.

She sat herself beside him.

"No offense, but I really need to be alone right now." He said.

She took a seat across from him and looked into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

She scooted closer and continued to speak.

"Listen, the things I said to you before. Those words were uncalled for and I feel very bad for even saying them in the first place." She said.

"No, actually you were right. I was being an asshole." Jackson admitted.

"So what's changed?" She asked him.

Jackson sat there silent and leaned back as he closed his eyes.

"Agent St. James. She's kind of your rival is she not?" Jackson asked her.

"Huh?" Persephone was puzzled.

"Well you two don't seem like you're best buds or anything like that." Jackson said.

"No we went to school together. Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know. What about your mom?"

"My mother died about three years ago from lung cancer. What is this about?"

Jackson took a deep breath and started to speak again.

"Memories have started to come back for me. I tried over the years to blank them out but they still keep coming back no matter how hard I try to blank them out." He paused. "Jesus Christ, how I hate this fucking place."

Persephone just looked at Jackson.

"Do want me to leave?" She asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what to think or feel anymore."

She put her arm around him and held him close.

"Why are you so afraid Agent Jackson. Is truly any harm in learning about the unknown?" She asked softly.

She kneeled in front of him and took his face in her hands. She slowly guided her lips to his and kissed him. He pulled away knowing that she was married. Did he want her? Yes. But even if his mind was telling him it was wrong, his heart was telling him that it felt right.

"What about Merv?" He asked.

"I'm more of a trophy wife than anything." She said.

"Out of all the men here, why me?" He asked.

"There was something about you. Something special. You made me feel things that I hadn't felt in such a long time Jackson. I wanted to tell you that for such a long time. But I couldn't until now." She confessed.

He held her hands and looked into her deep brown eyes. He could see that even if she was married to another man, that she too needed love and needed to feel wanted just as he did. She kissed him once more and this time Jackson did not protest as her tongue slipped past his lips. God how he wanted her. He wanted her since the first day he laid eyes on her.

He took her by the hand as he lead her up the stairs back up to his apartment. He shut the door behind them as he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back even more passionately. She whispered into his ear.

"Make love to me Jackson."

He kissed her again and slowly unzipped the back of her tight white dress. He slowly peeled her out of it revealing her full breasts. He took one of them and suckled on her nipple making her moan with pleasure. She slipped out of her dress, letting it fall to the floor until she was in nothing but her panties and high heels. He took her in and then after a few moments he scooped her up and carried her to the bed where he gently laid her down and kissed ever inch of her bare skin, making her shudder with desire and sighing with every touch he gave her.

She then removed his earpiece and undid his tie slowly. She then moved on to his shirt where she slowly unbuttoned revealing his flesh as she kissed every inch, making him sigh. She rolled over on top of him straddling him as she continued to undress him and kiss every inch of his flesh. With ease she removed his shirt and jacket and then she undid his pants, revealing his hard manhood. Her lips trailed down his chest and then finally engulfed him, sending waves of pleasure throughout his whole being.

They had finished getting undressed until they were as naked as the day they were created. He entered her slowly making her cry out in pleasure and making her scream his name. She ranked her nails down his back as he continued to slowly move inside of her. Their sighs of ecstasy filled the room until they both collapsed into each other's arms.

The very next morning Jackson awoke with a sleeping Persephone at his side. He stared at her for a long moment until she slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

"Good morning." She said.

"Good morning yourself." He answered.

He gathered her up in his arms and just held her for a long time. With all the things he had been through since arriving in that part of the mainframe. This more than made up for it. He turned to look at the clock. It was time to get up.

"I need to take a shower. Care to join me?" He asked.

"Sounds tempting. I think I will." She said.

They both got up and headed for the shower. They cleaned up and got dressed and headed downstairs.


End file.
